Gavin

[SIZE="1"]Died for his family, multiple times. Plus, he fought Superman, that's got to be a win just by itself. [CENTER][IMG]http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/leonbizarro/my%20space/Superman_VS_Goku_by_mikemaluk-1.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]- Children do not physically exist, people just spring forth into existence in late adolescence ready to become fully fledged members of society. [Oblivion] - Exceptionally rare armours suddenly become commonplace the moment you reach the right level, regardless of the difficulty in manufacturing them. [Oblivion] - After spending Lord knows how much money buying relatively slightly improved weaponry and armours throughout the game, the very best stuff always comes after beating a quest-line or boss. [Many RPGs] - Great disasters to a nation will always be faced down by a single individual or handful of people rather than the army of the nation, additionally they will be expected to do it for free and thanklessly. [Many RPGS] - The guy who looks evil always is. - The guy who looks too good usually is. - You can attain skill levels in a few days/months that it took other individuals a lifetime to reach... worst of all, you can't rub it in. - Princesses, despite being repeatedly kidnapped never learn the value of decent bodyguards.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Another interesting update, although I'm not sure how much I relish the prospect of being a widower after four and a half years of marriage. Still, well written as usual, I enjoyed the links to Final Quest for glory, even if as you said it is only loosely based on the story itself. You should really consider adding the title, it gave me a good chuckle.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Guitars are clearly inferior to an evil robot who transforms into a 1980s beat-box [CENTER][IMG]http://images.wikia.com/transformers/images/2/2a/Soundwave_mixalot.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]*Returns from Wal-Mart HQ surrounded by armed goons* Wow, seems hiring that body double was a good idea after all. Now to just go burn down the Love Shack, or worse, buy it and turn it into another Wal-Mart with a few dozen Starbucks to compliment it's evil. Oh, and please, don't worry about the body-double he'll be fine, covered by our company health insurance...Oh wait...*Laughs*[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Card games without life and death consequences ? Pegasus finds this most unfabulous. [CENTER][IMG]http://www.geocities.com/yugi_chan2/miswebs/personajes/01.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged FTW.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I see your women drinking tea and looking serious image and raise you drunk large-chested women with sake. [CENTER][IMG]http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs15/f/2007/035/5/3/Matsumoto_orihime_LOVE_by_sw.png[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]Well, latest Bleach chapter is out, so I might as well give my thoughts on it. - Disappointed there's no chapter next week, things are just getting interesting again. - I'm curious where Aizen's boundless confidence comes from. As powerful as his highest three ranked Espada are, they're facing the Captain-Commander and five other captains. I imagine Yama-jii by himself is a match for the #1, and Ukitake and Kyouraku could probably take #2 and #3 given their supposed status as his best students. This isn't even taking into account the other captain class fighters on Earth, as well as the Vizards who are apparently coming to tear him a new one. - Is it all just an illusion ? This is one thought going through my mind, despite the realistic look of the situation, Soul Society has now been emptied of it's captains entirely, which would allow Aizen to attack with impunity. Perhaps not entirely likely but still, something which is going through my mind. - Will Orihime die ? Honestly, I don't know. I'm not even going to speculate, because that last line reminds me so much of Kaien. - Where are Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo, and what powers will we see from them ? Oddly, this is something I'm disappointed we haven't seen yet, even though it was just a brief mention, it's still something I'd like to see. Of course, I'd also like to see Ryuuken and Isshin fight, but it seems there just aren't enough enemies for that. Oh well. - How the hell has Yammy survived so long ? Seriously, I have no answer to this question. He's the last surviving Arrancar above Grimmjow, is he just hiding or what ? ^_^ Here's hoping Chad pays him back for their first fight. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Independent musician/Hollow-slayer > Pop star. [CENTER][IMG]http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs11/i/2006/209/5/4/Chad_wih_guitar_by_Wendytigges.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] And yes, that is seriously the best Chad with guitar image I could find.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]My first instinct is to hold D’Ann. A prior lifetime of intimacy between the two of us floods back into my unconscious movements in an instant. Her hands are already slick and crimson in the blood flowing out of Mike’s side, as she desperately applies pressure to his wounds. I barely catch the whispers escaping through her lips, just enough to know she’s praying. Strange that I don’t panic, I’ve known Mike since he was just a kid and I’ve always cared about him like he was my own flesh and blood…I imagine that I should be panicking, despite all my training, despite seeing this kind of scene a hundred times before, because it’s Mike, and it’s so personal. Instead my hands drift in to replace D’Ann’s, as she clutches the right arm of my uniform and sobs in both anger and fear. Kenso is already calling from an ambulance, though he’s only a couple of feet from me, his frantic voice is oddly distant to me. Jae is out in the kitchen, practically tearing down cupboards looking for bandages to prevent Mike from bleeding to death in my arms. Three entry points, all in the abdomen, one of them perilously close to his ribs. My right hand moves in under his back, looking for the exit wounds, the first, just above his right kidney, the second a few inches away from it and closer to his spine… After a few seconds, when I fail to find the final, I accept that there must still be a round in his body… I don’t want to think about where it could be, right now I simply have to keep him alive until the medics get here. Looking to his face, I realise that Mike hasn’t changed a lot in the five years I’ve been away… his facial structure has changed from when he was a kid, more masculine looking, I can see faint stubble around his chin and cheeks. His hair is shorter than I remember it too, cut in a style I don’t recognise…But it’s all unmistakably Mike, the same bright eyed kid who’d bug me to teach him my martial arts when I picked up D’Ann…The same Mike who I was going to officially adopt when I married his sister…Don’t you die on me…You hear ? I imagine somewhere, my dues to karma have been paid up… Less than a month ago I was the one in this situation, forcing my friends to drag me out, bloody and unconscious, Annie sobbing into Andrew’s chest begging me not to go. The regret twists up my gut along with a dozen other emotions, right now though, I can’t focus on it. Jae runs in and hands me the bandages and the first-aid kit, I tear the latter open, pulling out five piece of gauze dressing, clean the wounds and apply the dressings individually, along with enough bandage to ensure the pressure holds. It doesn’t take long for the first spots of red to penetrate the white…all I’m left with is to pray the paramedics arrive soon. They do, thank God. I hear the siren only about half a minute after I’ve finished the bandages, soon the shifting red and blue light comes through the window along with the new sound of hurried footsteps. Two men and a woman…Mike is lifted out of my arms and into the ambulance…I’m talking without even realising it, giving approximations of blood-loss, the locations of the entry and exit wounds, the fact that there’s still one in there…D’Ann walks towards the ambulance, our hands still together, when the distance strains our grip, she simply looks back at me and slides her hand out of mine and continues to walk towards the ambulance. I don't move for a moment, nothing seems to, there's just a slight ache in my heart, a regret built from years of expectations, of waiting to come home suddenly brought to nothing. My feet move of their own accord, drawing my towards the ambulance, I get in wordlessly, close the doors behind me, then simply interlock my fingers and pray that everything will be OK. As the engine starts I'm left with only a single line of thought... I swear Mike, when you come out of this, you and I are going to have words. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Given that the Irish are apparently the "biggest per-capita consumers of tea in the world" according to Wikipedia with an average of four to six cups a day, I suppose I would classify myself as an average tea drinker, as I fall within that range. I'm rather dull when it comes to tea, generally sticking to the brand-name black that?s bought for home. I?ve almost never been able to drink tea without milk and sugar, the only exception being Turkish Apple tea, which I absolutely adore during the summer, unfortunately it's been a while since I've been able to get my hands on some. While I was in Australia I had the chance to sample a lot of other types of teas, as my aunt and uncle owned a café and insisted I expand my palette.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Honestly, I think Kitchen Sink has this one won. "[b]Some dub actors take their roles a little too seriously...[/b]"[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Meh, not a bad chapter overall, but not ground-breaking either. Personally I felt the Shikamaru/Asuma/Asuma's kid plug was a little unnecessary, we all know he's there, we all know he's probably going to kick-*** on an epic scale when he's older, there's no need to remind us. Anyone else notice Kurenai's eyes look suspiciously similar to the Rinnegan ? As for the meaning behind 106, sure, I got a chuckle out of it, but it made me wonder if the different numbers stand for individual words, like 106 means Tsunade. Guess we'll find out next week.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Ahem. Please rest assured fellow members that I am indeed not the CEO of Wal-Mart Corporation, secretly conducting market research here for the last seven years to better develop our various mind-control devices in order to further my intentions of world domination, which by Alien's Resurrection have been realised on an intergalactic scale. Please also rest assured that I am not promoting gang activity in the United States through the use of certain coloured bandanas, as to be honest I find gangs by their nature to be quite juvenile. I prefer to support various military and political insurrections, as well as certain wars as the aftermath of these conflicts allows me to enter the newly established civilian markets and make a killing (pardon the pun)...I mean...Oh damn it...Members, please kindly wait inside your homes for my various goons to arrive and make you disappear for knowing too much...[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Because Rach asked nicely. [CENTER][IMG]http://zeitgeistglee.250free.com/PopePalpatine.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.wikia.com/uncyclopedia/images/5/55/Bennysith.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Because I'm a Trekkie and this gave me a laugh.[/size] [CENTER][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/sensenmann/star-trek-inspirational-pos.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

[quote name='Alucard']I may be mistaken but didn't the two branch of families get along again?[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I've always felt that Neji's resentment towards the Main Family was indicative of the general feelings of those in the Branch Family as a whole. I think it was Neji himself who was to one to say there was a lot of hatred between the two families, but it's been a while since I actually went back and read that particular section of the manga.[/SIZE] [quote name='Alucard']I was under the impression that Neji was now going to be the head considering he is being trained under Hinata's father and being the strongest Hyuuga clan member.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Again this is a grey area, we've had nothing to say that he has been chosen over Hinata, nor anything to say that the training is simply to develop his skills as a Hyuuga. Personally I've felt that as long as Hanabi is in the equation, Neji won't be chosen directly to succeed Hiashi because she's apparently a genius too, as well as being a member of the Main Family. Relating to the training itself, I think that was just Hiashi's way of repaying his debt for Hizashi's sacrifice, that and he obviously wants a talent like Neji's to develop given it promotes the strength of the Hyuuga as a whole, even if he isn't a Main Family member. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Jeez, I complain about a lack of activity in this thread and then leave OB for a day and there's about fifteen replies. I guess I'm the one scaring people off Phenom, my bad. ^_^; [B]Zabuza and Haku[/B] Firstly, *whacks Ace up-side the head* No yaoi pairings in this thread, I have to go through enough of them when trying to find a good fanfiction already. Actually the Zabuza arc was probably my favourite of all the Naruto arcs so far because the characters were actually acting in their capacity as ninja in it, i.e. they were given a mission and had to complete it. Since they it's just been "Save Sasuke" or "Deal with Akatsuki". I'd be nice to see them go on missions occasionally again. [b]Neji and Hinata[/b] Sorry guys, but as much as I like Hinata as a character, she's probably my favourite female in the whole series, she'll never exceed Neji as a ninja. Yes, I would like to see Hinata develop to a point where she is confident in herself and her own abilities, but for her to develop ahead of Neji and his prodigious talent would require another Sasuke vs. Itachi level handicapping, and I?ve already seen one of my favourite geniuses die from that. Hinata is a likeable character, but she?s likeable because of how she?s dealt with her relative lack of talent within the clan, despite how it must obviously weigh down on her. If Hinata suddenly develops into a normal Hyuuga heir by herself, I think she?d lose what makes her special and her character would be ruined. Hinata is the one who?ll heal the rift between the two families, and that?s why she?s important. Neji on the other hand as pretty much lost his whole plot since he learned the truth about his father?s death. Sure he?s still the most talented Hyuuga in the entire clan, but will never lead it, unless Hiashi weds him off to Hinata, now before I get flamed for this, we?ve never seen a non-Hyuuga in the clan i.e. someone married into it, and given their fears over the Byakugan being stolen, this leads me to believe they do engage in marrying between the families. Either way, Neji needs to ditch his Hyuuga manskirt for an ANBU uniform, it?s been so glaringly obvious from Day 1 he should become an ANBU. Overall though, the Hyuuga definitely need development, along with the Uchiha they were supposed to be Konoha?s most powerful clan and yet we?ve seen relatively little of them. For instance one of the most glaring questions we?ve yet to get an answer for is why Hizashi (Neji?s father) was in the Branch Family while Hanabi remains in Main Family, despite both being siblings to the clan heir. [b]Ten-Ten[/b] Who ? Kidding, kidding. Yeah, I suppose she is underused, but truth be told, I never cared about her enough to actually want it otherwise, increasing her page-time would decrease others who I like better. She's Neji's training partner and that's about it as far as I?m concerned. [b]The Three Great Eye Techniques[/b] Originally I liked the Sharingan, back when the three tomoe version was the max one could safely get without the risk of eventual blindness, even then though there were elements of haxs to it, but at least there were limits as well i.e. Sasuke couldn?t copy jutsu he wasn?t physically able to perform like Lee?s taijutsu at the same speed. Now of course, it?s been haxxed to Over 9000 !!!! Rinnegan, don?t really know enough about it yet, aside from it?s CCTV functionality, and something to do with Pein?s six bodies. Of course Jiraiya referred to it as the greatest of the three, so I?m assuming there?s a lot more to it, to match the EMS. And then of course we have the unhaxxed Byakugan, which despite leading to the most deadly form of taijutsu in the Naruto universe in Gai?s opinion Jyuuken, it?s been beaten almost every time we?ve seen it. And of course recently it?s been relegated to becoming the handy-dandy ninja binoculars.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]"[B]As common logic would dictate, 9 is bigger than 8.[/b]" Innuendo for the win.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Stephanie'][size=1]I do it, too, Gavin. :p I always thought size 1 font just made your posts look more sophisticated. Truth is, it just makes your RPG posts look a Helluva lot shorter.[/size][/QUOTE] [quote name='SaiyanPrincessX'][SIZE="1"]Hey I've been using size 1 font for awhile now. :p[/SIZE][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"][strike]This is probably why I shouldn't post after midnight, heh, I tend to become a bit unobservant. Sorry Steph, make that three people. ^_^[/strike] OK, OK, white flag time. There are apparently a lot more people than I thought still using it. ^_^;[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Fear the +1 Pimp Cape. [CENTER][IMG]http://takeo13.adocity.com/data/t/takeo13/pics/11546399112p25etakeo13.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]Killing dead things just happens to be his speciality.[/SIZE] [CENTER][IMG]http://depblog.weblogs.us/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/vampire_hunter_d.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]Byakuya has better looking hair, and getting to his maximum power does not require half an hour of yelling.[/SIZE] [CENTER][IMG]http://strawberry-shinigami.com/images/Profile%20images/byakuya2.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

[SIZE="1"]Damn cliff-hangers. Seriously, twelve episodes and now we have to wait until July next year for the series to start up again ? *Sighs* I was just enjoying it too.[/SIZE]

[quote name='taperson'][COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"][SIZE="1"]Oh. I also miss when EVERYBODY posted in size 1.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Better still, when everyone just copied Sara's size 1 black style in an attempt to be cool. I think Shy and I are the only two left doing that, although truth be told, I just copied him. Heh. ^_^;[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Picked up another album from Trapt recently, [b]Someone in Control[/b], not as good as their other album, but still pretty damn good overall. Also Crys, epic fail with Barbie Girl.[/SIZE]